Catamenial devices are well known in the art and include sanitary napkins, of which there are many varieties such as but not limited to panty liners, maxipads, minipads and the like, and tampons. Typically, sanitary napkins are oriented substantially outside the body of the user whereas tampons are oriented substantially inside the body of the user. In every case, however, a portion of the catamenial device remains outside the body of the user and subsequently contacts the garment worn directly over the catamenial device. In the case of tampons, typically a withdrawal means such as a string remains outside the body of the user.
Catamenial tampons including a withdrawal string are well known in the art. Typically, a withdrawal string is attached to one end of the tampon to facilitate removal of the tampon after use. Most of the efforts in developing improvements in tampon withdrawal strings have been directed toward methods for the storage of the withdrawal string. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,587,515 discloses a withdrawal string formed in a coil compacted against the tampon base. U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,262 discloses a withdrawal string disposed within the protective wrapper to be used as a tear string for opening the wrapper. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,477,102 and 3,818,912 disclose a withdrawal string spirally wound and seated in an annular recess formed in the end of the tampon. U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,636 discloses a tampon wherein the main portion of the withdrawal string attached to the tampon base is folded and packed inside a longitudinal bore extending into the tampon and only a small length of the string remains outside the tampon. Each of these improvements are directed toward eliminating the packaging and handling problems presented by the presence of the withdrawal string. U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,589 discloses an improved non-wicking withdrawal string for a tampon.
Sanitary napkins likewise have a portion contacting or facing the garment of the user. The prior art shows several efforts to make the garment-facing side of the napkin such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,603, incorporated herein by reference, which discloses providing the garment-facing side of the napkin with a pleasant "soft" color or image pattern to relieve the wearer from unpleasant feelings after use or at the time of disposal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,679, incorporated herein by reference, discloses providing color to the side of the sanitary napkin facing the body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,076, incorporated herein by reference, discloses providing a colored printed layer between laminated layers to provide the color to a design in an overall laminate suitable for avoiding abrasion to the design in the absorbent device.
However, none of these prior art devices address the problem faced by catamenial device users who have occasion to wear close-fitting garments, namely, that the garment-facing or contacting portion of the catamenial device is easily noticeable through close fitting garments such as bathing suits, bikini bottoms and the like because the garment-facing or contacting portion, typically white or some other noticeable color, necessarily protrudes from the body and usually contrasts with the color of the garment. In fact, the prior art, namely U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,636, teaches that it is desirable to have a withdrawal string that is a different color than the tampon to provide sufficient contrast for easy detection by the user. This problem is of particular concern for women whose profession calls for the wearing of such garments such as models, exotic dancers, lifeguards and the like.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved catamenial device wherein the garment-facing or contacting portion of the device such as a withdrawal string of a tampon or the garment-facing side of a sanitary napkin is not noticeable when a user is wearing close-fitting garments.
It is another object of the invention to provide a plurality of catamenial devices, such as but not limited to a package of said devices, each device having a garment-facing or contacting portion of a different color so that a user can select a device having a garment-facing or contacting portion that will match the color of the close-fitting garment to be worn.